As we have mentioned in the previous patch of Marvel Strike Force, the developers are gradually adding the sidekicks of the most iconic villain in the X-men comics Apocalypse in the upcoming events. The first horseman that was added is Morgan Le Fay with the Pestilence symbol. If you missed the previous patch, you can read more about it here. 

Although adding Doctor Strange (Heartless) in the Darkhold team heavily implies that he is one of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen sidekicks, they have not yet announced it upfront. Doctor Strange (Heartless) has a very similar and tragic backstory to the original one, however, this version of Doctor Strange is a little bit more stubborn. 

When his lover, Dr. Christine Palmer, died in an inevitable accident (which occurs in almost every version of Stephen Strange), the sorcerer wasn’t able to cope properly with his loss.  This is why when he stumbled upon the Masters of the Mystic Arts, he had one goal in mind: to revive the loved one that he lost from the accident. When he became the Sorcerer Supreme and got the ability to use the Eye of Agamotto he used it to alter the timeline to save Christine from the accident. But no matter what Strange did to prevent the accident, he couldn’t save her from her inevitable death.

The only way he can save her is to get more powerful by absorbing the essences of other life forms so he froze himself in time for centuries in order to bring increasingly powerful demonic entities to Earth to take their souls. He eventually got strong enough to save his lover but he accidentally created a time paradox that resulted in the collapse of his universe.

Doctor Strange (Heartless) Abilities

This variant of Doctor Strange works really well in a Darkhold team with his abilities that can buff Darkhold allies, deal massive damage and protect his entire team using a barrier. These are his abilities:

• Supreme Blast (Basic Ability) – Attack primary and adjacent targets for 280% Piercing + flip 2 positive effects to negative effects, this attack cannot be blocked.
•  Ikonnic Blast (Special Ability) – this ability needs 3/3 energy to activate. You can Copy and clear 2 positive effects from the primary target and Attack for 400% damage, apply Slow for 2 turns, and reduce Speed Bar by 25%. If Charged, copy and clear all positive effects from the primary target instead. Gain +500% Extra Focus for this attack.
• Demonic Embrace (Ultimate Ability) – this ability needs 4/7 energy and you will gain 3 Charged. Attack all enemies for 300% damage + 50% additional damage per positive and negative effect on self and the primary target and this attack is unavoidable.
• Heartless (Passive Ability) – Heal for 20% Health on your turn if you have Charged left. At the end of any DARKHOLD ally turn, Barrier that character for 15% of this character’s Max Health. If Charged, instead Barrier self and all DARKHOLD allies for 15% of this character’s Max Health. On enemy Death, gain Offense Up, if this character already has Offense Up, gain Speed Up. Gain +50% Crit Chance and Crit Damage. DARKHOLD allies gain +50% Crit Chance and Crit Damage.DARKHOLD allies gain +50% Crit Chance and Crit Damage.

Wong Abilities

The Wong in this game’s version is extremely different from the MCU movies. Wong is Doctor Strange’s main sidekick. He is a descendant of an ancient Tibetan warrior monk from thousands of years ago. For generations, his ancestors that are firstborn males become servants of the Ancient One. Wong gets a bonus when being on a team with both versions of Doctor Strange of the game. 

• Arcane Kick (Basic Ability) – Attack primary target for 320% damage and Attack primary target for 320% damage.
• Dash Strike (Special Ability) – this ability needs 7 energy to use. Attack primary target for 200% Piercing + Bonus Attack 2 times for 200% Piercing and this attack ignores Defense Up.
• Portal Barrage (Ultimate Ability) – this ability needs 1 energy to use. Transfer all negative effects from this character to the primary target. Clear all negative effects from self. Copy 3 positive effects from the primary target to self. Flip 3 positive effects on the primary target. Attack primary target for 300% damage. Gain Taunt for 2 turns + Barrier self for 30% of this character’s Max Health. This attack cannot be dodged and if any of Doctor Strange is an ally gain +1 Safeguard, to a maximum of 2. 
• Guardian of Ancient Knowledge (Passive Ability) – apply Defense Up for 2 turns to self and all DARKHOLD allies at the start of the game.  if this character or any DARKHOLD allies have any amount of Barrier, apply +1 Deflect, up to a maximum of 3, to those characters on your turn. When an enemy attacks a DARKHOLD ally, if this character does not have Ability Block, attack that enemy 3 times for 50% Piercing. When this character drops below 30% Health, clear Taunt you will gain 30% armor and Darkhold allies also gain 30% armor.

LIVING VAMPIRE

This limited-time event will start on March 17th. 

• Mystic Assassin Orb – Collect Mystic Assassin Orb Fragments via the event milestones by hunting monsters then open the orbs to earn shards for selected characters with the limited time Mystic Spirit Slayer trait.
• Fangs Out Milestone – spend your campaign energy and battle in raids to earn points toward a 4-day milestone that will also reward Mystic Assassin Orb Fragments.
• Flesh and Blood Milestone – you can earn more rewards after the Fangs Out Milestone for another 4 days by winning in Blitz with any character, battling in Blitz with Mystic Spirit Slayer Characters at a minimum of 5 stars or Battling in Alliance War with Dark-Hunter Characters and spending Power Cores.
• Living Vampire Milestone – you can get a chance to receive Morbius shard, gear, Training Module, and more in an 8-day milestone by opening the Mystic Assassin Orbs you have collected.
• Primal Thirst Web Exclusive Milestones – you can earn more rewards in Arena web exclusive milestones that run for 8 days and also rewards Mystic Assassin Orb Fragments.

Weekly Events 

• Malicious Manipulators Bonus Event – This event will start on March 13 and will reward players with 2 character shards for Villain Mystic Controller characters from campaigns. This event is a preparation for the next event. 

• Phoenix Rising Repeating Legendary Event – This event will start on March 14 and will reward players with Phoenix Character Shards. You can prepare for this event by participating in the first 2 events. You will need 5 villains in your team, Mystic, Controller characters at a minimum of 5 stars to be able to unlock the character Phoenix.

• Dark Dimension V Cosmic Poll Winner – S.T.R.I.K.E. Leader Blitz – This event will start on March 14 and will give players Kestrel character shards as a reward.

• Deputy Director Blitz – This event will start on March 17 and will give players Maria Hill character shards as a reward.

• Merc Mayhem Bonus Event – This event will start on March 17 and will give players 2 character shards for Mercenary characters from the Campaign as a reward.

• Payday Flash Event – This event will start on March 18 and will give players Gold as a reward. This event needs Mercenary characters to be able to join.

• Raid Frenzy Flash Event – This event will start on March 18 that will give players these buffs, 20% cost reduction for energy, heals, and revives in raids.

Bug fixes and Misc Changes 

• Kate Bishop Ability Issues – An issue with Kate Bishop’s passive ability “Stubborn Defiance” where she should always attack a random enemy, apply blind and slow when an ally drops to 50% less hp has been fixed.

• Orange Gear Improvements – to help players progress their gear tiers to a higher level, they will soon be updating the Orange Gear Finder offers with increased amounts of gears and at a reduced price per gear piece. 

Knowing how to position your characters is really useful in this game as well as the set of characters that is really good to have. If you are new and interested in getting better at managing your team in the game, you can read our guide here.

What do you think of the evil version of Doctor Strange just like in the upcoming movie? Let us know in the comments below!